JORDAN

Located in the Middle East, bordering Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Palestine, separated by the Dead Sea. With a slowly rising population of 9.7 million people, the country of Jordan has long been a beacon of hope for many surrounding nations. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a constitutional monarchy, one of the very few that runs efficiently and smoothly in a modern age. Part of the success of the monarchy is the ease of communication; bot his majesty King Abdullah II and his wife Queen Rania speak English and Arabic fluently, allowing them to send messages across confidently and eloquently in the native language as well as convey messages through to the international audience flawlessly.

Urban Landscape Photograph of a Table and Jordanian Landscape by Jordan Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Grunge Photograph of an Abandoned sink by Jordan Urban Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Jordan has a varied landscape that often times seems contradictory; the desert landscape is large and expansive, dry and arid, sparsely filled with shrubbery throughout, and yet only a few hours’ drive one can easily find themselves overwhelmed with water falls, rivers, moss and algae. A few hours’ drive from that, there would be flatland’s with green fields that decorate the entire horizon.

THE DIVERSE LANDSCAPE OF JORDAN

Landscape Photograph of the Mountain Landscape of the Dead sea in Jordan at Golden Hour by Jordan Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Landscape Photograph of an Abandoned Home in Jordan at Golden Hour by Jordan Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Landscape Photograph of an Abandoned farm landscape in Jordan at Golden Hour by Jordan Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Landscape Photograph of Families in the Desert Oasis of Jordan by Jordan Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Landscape Photograph of Sheep in the Desert Oasis of Jordan by Jordan Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Landscape Photograph of Sheep in the Desert of Jordan by Jordan Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi.jpg

Landscape Photograph of Sheep Herders in the Desert of Jordan by Jordan Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Landscape Photograph of the Jordanian Desert During a sandstorm by Jordan Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Landscape Photograph of the Jordanian Desert and farm During a sandstorm by Jordan Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Landscape Photograph of the Jordanian Desert During a sandstorm by Jordan Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Candid Urban Landscape Photograph of a Man Walking through the desert of the Dead Sea in Jordan by Jordan Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Urban Photograph of a small store in the desert of Jordan by Jordan Urban Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Urban Photograph of Jordanian Children running by Jordan Urban Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Urban Portrait Photograph of an Abandoned Apartment by Jordan Urban Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

The Kingdom of Jordan has no shortage of natural beauty hidden amongst the rocky mountainous and airy deserts. A great tourist destination, the country boasts more than just The Dead Sea, Petra, and Wadi Rum. Although those locations are magnificent, they over shadow fascinating locations such as the Oasis known as the Al Azraq Wetland Wildlife Reserve, or the equally beautiful and ecologically diverse landscape of Wadi Bin Hammad which is located in the municipality of Karak, one of Jordan’s oldest cities.

Landscape Photograph of the Dead Sea and Jordan landscape by Jordan landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

SITES IN JORDAN

Wadi Rum

Karak Catsle

Landscape Photograph of the Karak Castle in Karak City in Jordan at Golden Hour by Jordan Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Dead Sea

Jerash

Petra

Dibeen Forest

Al-Azraq Wetlands

Landscape Photograph of the Azraq Wetlands Wildlife Reserve Oasis In Jordan by Jordan Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Wadi Bin Hammad

THE CAPITAL AMMAN

Long Exposure Photograph of Amman at Night by Jordan Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

The capital of Jordan is the city of Amman. Amman is a growing cultural hub, becoming a metropolis in its own right, attempting to mimic the skyline of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Amman has been visually divided into old Amman and new Amman. Old Amman being downtown, and the new Amman (not only the residential areas but also) the new industrial city hub known as ‘Al Abdali’, both are relatively close to each other.

Urban Landscape Photograph of the Mosque in Amman By Jordan Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Long Exposure Photograph of a Mosque in Amman Jordan at night by Jordan Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Landscape Photograph of Urban Amman Jordan by Jordan Urban Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Landscape Photograph of the Mountain Landscape of the Dead sea in Jordan by Jordan Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Urban Photograph of Jordanian markets by Jordan Urban Landscape Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Portrait Photograph of a Jordanian Child in Jordan by Jordan Photojournalist Rashad Anabtawi

Macro Photograph of a Spider by Jordan Wildlife Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Candid Black and White Photograph of a Jordanian Citizen by Jordan Urban Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

Candid Photograph of a Jordanian Silhouette against Jordanian Landscape at Golden Hour by Jordan Photographer Rashad Anabtawi

THE REFUGEES

Since the early 2000’s Jordan has been a steady rise in refugees seeking asylum in Jordan. Many of the surrounding countries have been in conflict for a very long time. Since the state of Israel forces Palestinians out of their own homes after illegally occupying their land, many Palestinians are left homeless and in need of humanitarian aid after being torn the dignity of being human from the Israelis. Jordan lifted their borders and allowed Palestinians to seek refuge within the country. After the US invasion of Iraq many less fortunate souls found themselves fleeing their war-torn country into the open arms of the Jordanian landscape as well. After the United States backed militants in Syria began causing turmoil, and eventually a blood drenched civil war, many of the people of Syria needed to flea for the safety of their families; schools were shut down and business permanently closed, and Jordan welcomed the refugees in.

Photograph of a Frightened Syrian Refugee in Jordan by Jordan Photojournalist Rashad Anabtawi

Jordan has always had an open door policy towards refugees; this stems from the deep rooted cultural customs that deny almost any Jordanian from being a bad host. This can be traced back to the days when Jordan was just a barren desert land occupied by tribes scattered across the desert, and as foreigners would travel through Jordan to Damascus or Jerusalem, Jordanian natives opened up their homes and hearts to all travelers alike. Today this tradition is still prominent as one well often be invited to homes of strangers in order to partake in tea, coffee or the Jordanian traditional meal: Mansaf.

Unfortunately in modern times, due to a series of financial failures within the Jordanian economy, many Jordanian locals have been holding on to a strong misconception that the refugees have come to take all the jobs. A similarly erroneous notion as that held by many of the American population in regards to their Mexican populations.

Portrait Photograph of a Frightened Syrian Refugee in Jordan by Jordan Photojournalist Rashad Anabtawi

This photograph is of Syrian refugee who was afraid and hiding behind his little tent. Fear in his eyes and trepidation in the rest of his body language, it is hard to forget the emotional impact this child’s look had.